Opening remarks by António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, at the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) High-level Pledging event for 2024.
Secretary-General António Guterres today (6 Dec) said the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) “demonstrates its unique and irreplaceable role by getting funding quickly to people in crisis,” and called for “more donors to step up and expand the donor base.”
Speaking at the annual CERF High-Level Pledging Event, the Secretary-General noted that in April this year, “when conflict erupted in Sudan, CERF made funding available to help millions of people caught up in the brutal fighting and forced from their homes,” while in October, it “quickly channelled funds to our United Nations humanitarian agencies in Gaza as they struggled to meet the needs of hundreds of thousands of people impacted by the conflict.”
Since its inception in 2006, Guterres said, “around one-quarter of CERF allocations have gone towards responding to climate-related disasters” and “this year, the proportion increased to one-third.”
He told the meeting that Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths, “has just announced a CERF climate action account at the COP28 climate conference in Dubai” which will enable donors to channel additional financing directly to address the risks and impacts of climate-related disasters.
In 2023, the Secretary-General said, “CERF once again supported people in forgotten crises that go under the radar, from Haiti to Burkina Faso and Yemen,” and pointed out that “more than 270 million US dollars was released to bridge funding gaps and bolster humanitarian operations across 26 countries with underfunded emergencies – the highest amount ever.”
He called for “financial commitments that match the scale of needs” in order to meet the one billion US dollar funding target agreed in 2016.
Since its inception in 2006, 126 UN Member States and observers, as well as regional Governments, corporate donors, foundations, and individuals, made it possible for humanitarian partners to deliver over $5.5 billion in life-saving assistance in over 100 countries and territories.
CERF’s Rapid Response window allows country teams to kick-start relief efforts immediately in a coordinated and prioritized response when a new crisis emerges. CERF’s window for Underfunded Emergencies helps scale-up and sustain protracted relief operations to avoid critical gaps when no other funding is available.
The Emergency Relief Coordinator manages CERF on behalf of the UN Secretary-General and is supported by the CERF secretariat, which ensures that funds are allocated properly, disbursed in a timely manner, and that the use of funds is reported appropriately and transparently.
